Daily Dose – Social Media Tip of the Day –
10 Ways Your Business Can Use Valentine’s Day on Social Media
(This post is also up today at The Glass Heel.)
Love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day is upon us! Consumers worldwide are expected to spend over $14 billion this year on candy, chocolates, stuffed animals and the like.
Despite what you may think, cupid-themed marketing is not just for restaurants, florists and jewelers.
There are many types of businesses that can use this sweet holiday to build their online communities and customer base.
Here are 10 tips to use the holiday in your Internet marketing plan, no matter your business type:
1) Change your logo and/or avatars – Add a cupid or a heart to your regular logo and/or avatar, and post that on your website and social media profiles. It’s a cute, inexpensive way to create goodwill and get a smile.
2) Send virtual valentines to your most loyal customers, or hand them out when people come into your store/location.
3) Be humorous! Valentine’s Day is not just about love and romance. Find some humorous anti-Valentine’s Day cares at someecards.com and expect some laughs!
4) Show love to a local charity. Ask people to post pictures of hearts or homemade valentines on your Facebook page and donate $5 to a local charity for each heart posted.
5) Have your online community take a quiz or a poll, and increase interaction with a short survey (for example, ask: Chocolates or Flowers?)
6) Share cute statistics leading up to the holiday (for example, 52% of men propose on Valentine’s Day, and 53% of women will dump their boyfriends if they don’t get a gift!)
7) Share unusual and unique gift ideas. Get ideas from Pinterest and from Google Search.
8) Share links to blogs and news articles relating to Valentine’s Day cooking, recipes, attire, decorations, crafts – anything you think your readers and fans will enjoy and share.
9) Have your social media community share their best and worst memories of Valentine’s Day! Host a contest for the most romantic, the most touching, the most awkward, etc., memory. Pick a winner in each category and give them a special prize.
10) Have your customer service plan ready and be prepared for action! If you are inviting more engagement and interaction, you need to be able to respond to people in a timely fashion. Have at least two people monitoring comments and posts 24/7 on your social media profiles – people who can answer questions and who have a kind demeanor.
Do you have any tips for ways in which businesses can maximize their use of social media during Valentine’s Day? Post them in the comments section or email julia@jcsocialmarketing.com